Lewes Cannonball 5k and 1 Mile RR (and Pics!)

On Sunday, September 15, the twins and I participated in the Lewes Cannonball 5k. It was my first 5k since last November and the twins’ first road race since last year. Yeah, it’s been a while. The course was gorgeous. Lewes is a historic sea town, peppered with quaint dwellings and charming boutiques. Our 5k route took us alongside the marina and then back down into the historic section of town. I wish I could say more about the scenery, but I was “in the zone,” blocking out my surroundings. In the beginning, I did try to appreciate the beauty of the morning, but then I got busy. In fact, I was so immersed into the race that I completely blew past DH and DS 3 – at that point, all I could see was the red lights from the timing machine at the finish line.

The race began at 8:30. We arrived around quarter of 8; we barely had enough time to register the twins and do a quick warmup. After some announcements, we all gathered at the starting line. I placed myself near the front. I wasn’t the fastest, but I knew I wouldn’t be trotting either. The twins placed themselves in the middle. My advice to them was to pace accordingly and finish strong. And, oh yeah, good luck. Most runners did a pretty good job of knowing where to put themselves in the pack – but there were some walkers that did not. Apparently, the walkers were supposed to move to the side so they wouldn’t get trampled and we wouldn’t have to dodge, but they didn’t listen. Sure enough, when the horn blasted, there was a walker – a huge hulk of a man – in front of me. After dodging him and a few others, I found some open space and took off.

I had no expectations going into this race. Since this was my first race since May (the half-marathon) and first 5k since last fall, I just wanted to ease back into running and racing. I’ve only been running for three weeks. I’ve been following Higdon’s 5k Intermediate plan and the training has been going well. I’ve had some surprising tempo runs and some runs where I ran sub-7 miles in the middle of a long run – which has NEVER happened before. But, my base of training is still small – I just started – so I had no expectations other than to have a good time.

My overall goal for the run was to find a comfortably hard pace (like a tempo pace). I didn’t want to go all out; I didn’t want to kill myself on my first race back. I wanted to feel it, but cautiously – if that makes any sense. Regarding time, I thought it would be nice if I could run somewhere close to my PR from last fall, but that might be too hard of a pace this early on in running. If I didn’t make that time, it was no big deal. A huge part of this “new” training is to make realistic goals that are small and obtainable. Baby steps, right?

Having said that, the run itself was not bad at all. It was truly enjoyable. I let the others who were too fast go off and not worry about their pace – I had a pace of my own to concentrate on. For the first mile or so, a young guy ran with me. We pretty much had the same pace. After the first mile, I picked up the pace and he fell back. I began eyeing people to pass. The man in blue shorts. The woman in neon-green compression socks. I felt surprisingly strong and light. The only issue I had was extreme dry mouth. I wasn’t dehydrated, just nervous. I took a sip of water after the first mile and that helped a little.

The stretch back to town was perhaps the hardest – mainly because the sun was in my eyes and I wasn’t wearing sunglasses. As we were nearing the final mile, my stomach gave a lurch. Even though my body felt fine – calves still fresh, quads okay – my stomach had forgotten what a decent pace can do. I dialed the pace back slightly because I felt really sick – like scared sick. I tried to tell myself that what I was feeling was normal, but to be honest, it’s been a loooong time since I’ve felt upset to my stomach because of exertion and it took me by surprise.

I made the last turn, and before I knew it the finish line was before me. I couldn’t believe it was almost over! As I got closer I could see the clock and my time. Oh wow!! I was excited and decided to gun it, but then as I was picking up the pace to a sprint, the young guy who I left behind in the first mile was trailing me and then overtaking me. Argh!! I decided puking was acceptable in a situation like this, but the problem with the finish line was that it wasn’t wide enough to accommodate two runners coming in at the same time. The finish line was more like a very narrow chute or a tunnel – with the director standing to the right to tear off the bib tags. The young guy moved in front of me – I was on his heels, but I couldn’t charge the finish like I wanted. So, I’m sorry to say Colonel Cupcake – I did not get my 22:22, but I did run a nice 22:26.

After a couple scary seconds of dry heaving (it’s been a while, okay?), I did a cool down and then trotted back to the crowd to cheer on my boys. Caleb crossed the line at a fast 25:40 – a PR of nearly 4 minutes(!!) from his last road race. Jacob had some calve issues around the second mile – and according to him, a side stitch. He managed to pull it together and finished in 31:17. I knew he was disappointed with his time, but I think he did really considering how badly he was feeling.

There was a post party in the garden of the historical society. A local juice bar provided the runners with a pretty awesome spread: apple and pear sangria, carrot/melon/orange juice combo, kale chips, hummus with carrot sticks and cucumbers, and oatmeal cookies. Absolutely delicious! We munched on our food, waiting for the awards ceremony. I knew I placed relatively well in my age group – I just didn’t know where. There were a few other females that finished before me. A childish part of me really wanted the trophy that they award to the top age group finishers. It’s a cannonball trophy – how could you not want it? But the adult in me said that it probably wouldn’t happen. Not this year.

Well, guess what? I won first in my age group! I got my cannonball! Not only did I place first in my age group, but I was fifth overall female. Not too shabby for my first race in a while, huh?

The twins placed high in their age group as well with Caleb placing second and Jacob placing third.

Now that I have successfully completed my first 5k since returning to running, it’s time to think about aiming for a low 22 or a sub-22. I have a 5k at the end of October, and I think by then, a low 22 or a sub-21 is definitely feasible. I am really excited about where I am right now – not only did a I run a pretty stellar time yesterday, I felt pretty good too! I have no muscle soreness today – nothing. Not even my calves. I think this is a positive indication of faster times in the future. Although improvement is important, it's not everything. What really matters is this:

Ah, Jamie. I have some funny stories about him as the unofficial "cheerleader" - will tell you when I see you next... It was a battle with him from start to finish... We're getting him to do the one mile walk at the Seawitch Classic in October (he can dress up as a zombie and walk around.)

That last picture is killing me. JAMIE. Haha!!

Congrats on winning that cannonball trophy and running only a couple of seconds off your PR! And the twins' progress is pretty impressive too!

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